November 16, 2016

Premiere: Very Fresh - "Only Happy When It Rains"

Check out Very Fresh's badass cover of "Only Happy When It Rains."

It's wild to think that one of the first times that I was exposed to a not-all-dude "rock" band was from an early Now That's What I Call Music! volume. Nestled among Britney Spear's breakout hit "...Baby One More Time" and Semisonic's karaoke classic "Closing Time" was Garbage's "I Think I'm Paranoid." I was eight-years-old and spent just as much time dancing around my bedroom to Hanson's "MMMBop" as I did to the slightly less age-appropriate Garbage song. Shirley Manson's silky plea of "Bend me break me / Anyway you need me / All I want is you," was strangely relatable for a child who suffered from many unrequited crushes since preschool. Not to discount the Britneys and Christinas and Mandys of the early aughts, but it was was subconsciously thrilling to know that girls were just as good at guitar as the boys. I'm sure I'm not the only who felt this way, as Brooklyn-based band Very Fresh proves with their new cover of "Only Happens When It Rains."

Very Fresh's cover of the iconic Garbage track comes right on the heels of the release of their excellent new EP, Hey It's Me!, off Inflated Records and New Professor Music. When comparing the two, it's almost impossible to tell the difference between Very Fresh's Cindy Lou Gooden and Manson's striking and versatile vocals. After listening to Hey It's Me!, it's clear that bands like Garbage were a big influence on the album, so the cover is some serious nineties rock inception. Very Fresh's take on "Only Happy When Its Rains" also gives an unexpected voice to the anger that's churning throughout our country during this dark time. It's not overtly political, but you can find some cathartic comradery while Gooden growls, "I'm only happy when it rains / Pour your misery down on me." And even if you weren't a nineties baby who grew up during the height of Garbage, let this be an introduction to one of the coolest bands to make it onto a NOW! cd.

Very Fresh on "Only Happy When It Rains":

"Ben and I recorded and mixed this at his studio in Westchester (Dusty Gold). It turned out to be a great window to the engineering genius of Butch Vig as we tried to recreate each part (somewhat) faithfully. I've always liked the Garbage hits, but now have a greater reverence for Vig - and of course Shirley Manson's songwriting and voice."